Spencer Brasch makes his fifth start in a Cal Poly uniform Saturday night as the Mustangs visit Sacramento State.
Photo by: Owen Main | Cal Poly Athletics
Streaks on Line Saturday as Cal Poly Visits Sacramento State
11/5/2021 6:31:00 PM | Football
WEEKLY NOTES: CAL POLY (PDF) | SACRAMENTO STATE | BIG SKY
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SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Sacramento State has won five straight games. The Hornets have claimed eight consecutive Big Sky Conference contests. The visiting team has won the last four games in the series.
Something must give in Saturday's rematch between the California state rivals as Sacramento State hosts Cal Poly at Hornet Stadium. Kickoff for the 40th meeting between the Mustangs (1-7, 0-5 Big Sky) and Hornets (6-2, 5-0 Big Sky) is set for 6:05 p.m.
ESPN Radio (1280 AM and 101.7 FM) and KRKC (1490 AM and 104.9 FM) will broadcast the game live with Zachary Anderson-Yoxsimer (play-by-play) and Stephan Hodges (analyst) calling the action. The game also will be available on ESPN+. Links for audio and video streams as well as live stats are at the top of this page as well as on the football schedule page at www.GoPoly.com.
Hornets head coach Troy Taylor (second season, 15-6, Cal '89) inherited a program that had won just two games in three of the previous four years and led Sacramento State to a 9-4 mark in 2019 and 6-2 so far this fall. The Hornets did not play football in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sacramento State is ranked 16th by the media and 22nd by the coaches this week.
The Hornets beat Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo in 2017 and 2019 while the Mustangs won in Sacramento in 2016 and 2018. Last Sacramento State win over Cal Poly at home was in 2012.
Cal Poly owns a 21-18 advantage in the series, winning nine of the last 12 matchups. The Mustangs are 10-8 against the Hornets in the state capital. Cal Poly head coach Beau Baldwin is 5-1 against Sacramento State, all while he was at Eastern Washington, while Taylor is 1-0 against the Mustangs.
Both head coaches are in their second season at their current school.
Transitioning from the Triple Option to a spread offense with multiple formations, Cal Poly has struggled, posting an 0-3 mark last spring and losing seven straight after a season-opening win at San Diego this fall.
But the games have been closer the last two weeks following the return of sophomore Spencer Brasch at quarterback. The Cal transfer missed four games due to a fractured hand and passed for 291 yards in a 24-13 loss to then-No. 10 UC Davis and 287 more yards in last week's setback at Portland State.
For the season, Brasch has completed 83 of 148 passes for 1,106 yards and six touchdowns. His counterpart Saturday night, junior Jake Dunniway, has connected on 108 of 177 passes for 1,555 yards and 10 scores. A St. Mary's (Stockton) High School graduate, Dunniway played one season at San Diego Mesa College, passing for 2,888 yards and 27 touchdowns in 2018.
Cal Poly has used five different quarterbacks this fall and seven in Baldwin's first 10 games as Mustang head coach. All seven have started at least once during that stretch.
Cal Poly is playing its seventh ranked opponent of the season Saturday. Fresno State is in FBS polls this week for the third time this season while South Dakota, Montana, Weber State, Montana State, UC Davis and Sacramento State all have been in the top 25 in FCS polls.
Four current Cal Poly assistant coaches have coached at Sacramento State, including Paul Wulff, James Montgomery, Will Plemons and Joey Muscarella.
With nine tackles last week, Mustang linebacker Matt Shotwell now has 307 stops for his career, No. 6 in Cal Poly's record book. Kurt Rubin (1998-2001) is No. 5 with 315 and Shotwell also can catch No. 4 Gary Swanson, who had 326 tackles from 1981-84. Shotwell's older brother, 2006 Buck Buchanan Award winner Kyle Shotwell, is No. 3 with 392 tackles.
After a season-opening win at Dixie State (soon to be Utah Tech University) in St. George, Utah, Sacramento State dropped decisions to Northern Iowa and Cal before putting together its five-game winning streak against Idaho State, Southern Utah, Montana, Northern Arizona and Northern Colorado.
The Hornets are 8-0 on the road under Taylor and 7-9 at home. Sacramento State's current five-game winning streak is the longest in the school's Division I Era. The Hornets won six straight as a Division II school in 1985.
Hornet tidbits: Sacramento State has five sets of brothers on its 2021 roster ... none of the five quarterbacks on the Hornets' roster were with the team when Taylor took over the program in the spring of 2019 ... 20 Hornet players have already earned their bachelor's degree ... Pierre Williams' streak of at least one catch in 29 consecutive games in which he playedk came to an end last week.
Cal Poly will play its final two games of the 2021 season at home, hosting Idaho State next Saturday and Northern Arizona on Nov. 20. Both games kick off at 5:05 p.m.
AUDIO STREAM | VIDEO STREAM | LIVE STATS | TICKETS
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Sacramento State has won five straight games. The Hornets have claimed eight consecutive Big Sky Conference contests. The visiting team has won the last four games in the series.
Something must give in Saturday's rematch between the California state rivals as Sacramento State hosts Cal Poly at Hornet Stadium. Kickoff for the 40th meeting between the Mustangs (1-7, 0-5 Big Sky) and Hornets (6-2, 5-0 Big Sky) is set for 6:05 p.m.
ESPN Radio (1280 AM and 101.7 FM) and KRKC (1490 AM and 104.9 FM) will broadcast the game live with Zachary Anderson-Yoxsimer (play-by-play) and Stephan Hodges (analyst) calling the action. The game also will be available on ESPN+. Links for audio and video streams as well as live stats are at the top of this page as well as on the football schedule page at www.GoPoly.com.
Hornets head coach Troy Taylor (second season, 15-6, Cal '89) inherited a program that had won just two games in three of the previous four years and led Sacramento State to a 9-4 mark in 2019 and 6-2 so far this fall. The Hornets did not play football in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sacramento State is ranked 16th by the media and 22nd by the coaches this week.
The Hornets beat Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo in 2017 and 2019 while the Mustangs won in Sacramento in 2016 and 2018. Last Sacramento State win over Cal Poly at home was in 2012.
Cal Poly owns a 21-18 advantage in the series, winning nine of the last 12 matchups. The Mustangs are 10-8 against the Hornets in the state capital. Cal Poly head coach Beau Baldwin is 5-1 against Sacramento State, all while he was at Eastern Washington, while Taylor is 1-0 against the Mustangs.
Both head coaches are in their second season at their current school.
Transitioning from the Triple Option to a spread offense with multiple formations, Cal Poly has struggled, posting an 0-3 mark last spring and losing seven straight after a season-opening win at San Diego this fall.
But the games have been closer the last two weeks following the return of sophomore Spencer Brasch at quarterback. The Cal transfer missed four games due to a fractured hand and passed for 291 yards in a 24-13 loss to then-No. 10 UC Davis and 287 more yards in last week's setback at Portland State.
For the season, Brasch has completed 83 of 148 passes for 1,106 yards and six touchdowns. His counterpart Saturday night, junior Jake Dunniway, has connected on 108 of 177 passes for 1,555 yards and 10 scores. A St. Mary's (Stockton) High School graduate, Dunniway played one season at San Diego Mesa College, passing for 2,888 yards and 27 touchdowns in 2018.
Cal Poly has used five different quarterbacks this fall and seven in Baldwin's first 10 games as Mustang head coach. All seven have started at least once during that stretch.
Cal Poly is playing its seventh ranked opponent of the season Saturday. Fresno State is in FBS polls this week for the third time this season while South Dakota, Montana, Weber State, Montana State, UC Davis and Sacramento State all have been in the top 25 in FCS polls.
Four current Cal Poly assistant coaches have coached at Sacramento State, including Paul Wulff, James Montgomery, Will Plemons and Joey Muscarella.
With nine tackles last week, Mustang linebacker Matt Shotwell now has 307 stops for his career, No. 6 in Cal Poly's record book. Kurt Rubin (1998-2001) is No. 5 with 315 and Shotwell also can catch No. 4 Gary Swanson, who had 326 tackles from 1981-84. Shotwell's older brother, 2006 Buck Buchanan Award winner Kyle Shotwell, is No. 3 with 392 tackles.
After a season-opening win at Dixie State (soon to be Utah Tech University) in St. George, Utah, Sacramento State dropped decisions to Northern Iowa and Cal before putting together its five-game winning streak against Idaho State, Southern Utah, Montana, Northern Arizona and Northern Colorado.
The Hornets are 8-0 on the road under Taylor and 7-9 at home. Sacramento State's current five-game winning streak is the longest in the school's Division I Era. The Hornets won six straight as a Division II school in 1985.
Hornet tidbits: Sacramento State has five sets of brothers on its 2021 roster ... none of the five quarterbacks on the Hornets' roster were with the team when Taylor took over the program in the spring of 2019 ... 20 Hornet players have already earned their bachelor's degree ... Pierre Williams' streak of at least one catch in 29 consecutive games in which he playedk came to an end last week.
Cal Poly will play its final two games of the 2021 season at home, hosting Idaho State next Saturday and Northern Arizona on Nov. 20. Both games kick off at 5:05 p.m.
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